How to Avoid Getting Suspended
by libraluvr
Summary: Dash has decided he can't possible let Danny get away with beating him up? Will he manage to get Danny kicked out of school?  -Sequel to How to Piss Off Danny Fenton


**Sequel to How to Piss Off Danny Fenton**

Danny Fenton walked towards his house in a wonderful mood. He'd just won a fight against the bully that had been messing with him for years. If it could be called a fight; Dash hadn't even landed one punch. Now he was walking down the street with his best friend at his side, holding hands with the girl he loved.

A little voice in the back of Danny's mind reminded him that Sam was not aware of how he felt about her. The voice rambled on to say that Sam was a very pretty girl and that if he waited too long some other guy might snatch her up and then he'd never get a chance.

Danny promptly informed the voice that if it didn't shut up he would find some way to lock it in a sound proof box and make sure to forget where he put the key. And then there was silence.

Unfortunately the voice had already ruined his good mood. Another thought occurred to him and he groaned out loud.

"Seriously?" Tucker asked. "You were cool for like, what, ten minutes?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "I just realized I am going to get in so much trouble for fighting with Dash," he explained.

"Fighting with Dash?" Sam scoffed. "You kicked his butt. He didn't even land a punch."

Danny beamed with pride. She'd noticed! He shook his head to focus. "That just means I'm probably going to get in even more trouble. And when my parents find out? I am so dead. If Jazz finds out she'll probably say it's because I'm transferring the aggression I use as Phantom to my regular life or some crap."

"Hey, Jazz usually knows what she's talking about," Tucker said. Sam and Danny gave him strange looks. "She does," he insisted. "And anyway, you know Dash. Do you really think he's going to make a big deal about the fact that you beat him up? Remember you've worked really hard to make everyone think you're a scrawny geek. His reputation would be ruined."

"Yeah, but Danny beat him down pretty hard," Sam said looking worried. "I mean, it's obvious now that Danny is nowhere near as weak as he seems."

"She's right," Danny agreed. Sam gave him a small smile of thanks. He smiled back.

"You guys," Tucker said, interrupting their moment. The pair realized he'd stopped in front of his house, which was a couple feet back. "I seriously doubt Dash is going to make a big deal about this but if he does, I can totally prove he started it."

"You can?" Danny asked skeptically.

"And just how can you do that?" Sam asked, just as skeptically.

"Unless it comes to that you don't need to worry about it," he replied climbing his steps and opening the door. "See you two lovebirds later."

"We're not lovebirds," Danny and Sam responded simultaneously. However, even they could hear that the statement lacked its usual conviction. Tucker smirked and walked into his house.

"So…" Danny started.

"Mouthwash?" Sam finished. He nodded and they continued walking to his house.

It took a while but Mr. Lancer finally noticed that Dash was taking far too long. The rest of his detention students had already shown up. He debated on going to look for the young Mr. Baxter but decided to fish for information first.

"Did any of you see Dash Baxter before you reported here?" he asked the room.

There were eye rolls, winces, and some people burst into laughter. "Yeah, we saw him get beat up," Jake Adkins said snickering.

"_What!_" Mr. Lancer exclaimed. "_By who?_"

"None other than Danny Fenton," Stephanie Baker said.

"_A Company of Swans __, Danny Fenton?_ Black hair, blue eyes, usually in here after school?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"Yep. Jazz Fenton's little brother. Messed him up real bad too," Michael Carter said. "If you ask me, Dash deserved every hit."

"No joke," Aliyah Daniels chipped in. "Dash was begging for it. He said every single thing he could think of to piss Danny off. Calling Mr. Fenton stupid and clumsy…"

"And then saying Danny was just as bad. Then the idiot went and said Mr. and Mrs. Fenton didn't look right together. Everyone knows Danny nearly punched Bryan Emerson when he said that. The only reason he didn't was because Sam and Tucker held him back," Laura Fletcher said.

"Yeah. Then he went and said he'd been thinking about calling Jazz up to thank her for tutoring him. He said he wanted to teach _her_ a couple things. He's so stupid. Everyone knows how protective Danny is of his sister. Remember when he found out Jason Gardener only asked her out to get her to convince the teachers to make the college fair optional?" Josie Hale said.

"Dude! I remember that! He told Jazz and then after she dumped Jason he got Tucker to hack into Jason's e-mail and sent everybody those e-mails that proved Jason was two-timing Ashley Isaacson with Lizzie Jones. Now Jason can only get dates with girls from Dimmsdale," Alex Kendricks said.

"Can you believe after he said all that Dash went and _kissed Sam_? He got a lucky break when Sam decided to try and keep Danny from demolishing him. She told him to just let it go. The girl said _please_," Stephanie said.

"Yeah and Dash wasted the effort by opening his big mouth and calling Danny 'Dan'. He hates that. He even snapped at _Ms. Tetslaff _when she called him that," Michael added.

"That fight was _epic_. I have gym with Danny and I have _never_ seen him move like that," Alex said.

"I know. And then at the end he warned Dash if he said any of that stuff again he wouldn't be as nice," Aliyah said.

"Then he went over to Tucker and Sam. Did you guys see her trying to act like she wasn't totally psyched about him calling her his girl? I don't get how everyone can see how in love they are except them. They're driving Tucker crazy," Josie continued.

"I know!" Laura exclaimed. "Every time he walks by me I hear him muttering about "clueless best friends who can't see how in love they are." If I were him I would've locked them in a room and not let them out until they admitted their feelings for each other _forever_ ago." The others laughed.

"So, where is Mr. Baxter now?" Mr. Lancer asked. The students jumped. He'd purposely let them forget he was there. He never would've gotten that much information by asking questions.

"He's probably in the nurse's office," Jake offered. "Danny wrecked him pretty bad." His tone was subdued now. He and the rest of the students had lost their excited expressions. It was obvious to Mr. Lancer that they felt they'd gotten Danny in trouble.

"Daniel will have to be punished," Lancer stated. Their expressions fell even further. "But if everything you say is true, I will make sure his punishment is far less severe than it would have been." He noted the relief on their faces before continuing. "Now, I'm going to go check on Mr. Baxter. I trust you all will behave while I'm out of the room." He walked out of the room headed towards the nurse's office.

When he was out of earshot Stephanie asked, "Anybody know why he calls everybody else by their last names but he always calls the Fentons, Jasmine and Daniel?" Everyone shrugged or shook their heads and the group went back to their prior activities.

Mr. Lancer could have easily called in the teacher from next door to watch them, but instead he'd trusted them. No one wanted to break that trust.

Danny hated to let go of Sam's hand, but he had to open his house door. He would have been happy knocking and letting one of his parents open the door, but he was pretty sure Sam would think it was weird.

He opened the door and after calling a greeting to his parents, the pair walked upstairs. Danny walked into his room, while Sam went into the bathroom for the mouthwash. Danny dropped their bags next to his bed, walked over to his computer, and turned it on. He sat down just as Sam walked in.

"Ahh. Minty fresh," she said before flopping onto his bed. She sat up and grabbed her bag, pulling out their English book and fixing the bed to her liking before settling down again. She glanced up to see Danny had spun the computer chair to face her and was now staring at her.

"What?" she asked self-consciously. Danny shook his head as if waking from a daze; which he was. He'd turned to ask her something and forgotten his own name at the sight of her. She'd propped up the pillows and was leaning back against them. Her boots were off and on the ground; her long, stocking-covered legs stretched out. She looked gorgeous.

"Danny?" Sam asked. He shook his head again.

"Sorry," he said. "I was just wondering…"

"Yeah?" Sam asked, curious now.

"Well…" Danny hesitated.

"Yeah?" Sam asked again.

"You didn't mind that much when I called you my girl did you?" Danny asked in a rush.

It took Sam a moment to decipher his question, but when she did her cheeks were red in an instant. "No, it was just weird," she said carefully.

Danny, who had been trying to lead up to something with his question, frowned. "Why was it weird?" he queried.

"Well… I mean… yeah, I call you and Tucker my boys all the time… and I've heard your dad call your mom and Jazz his girls… but outside of a family setting when a guy says a girl is _his_ girl… it kind of implies something, you know?" she tried to explain.

Danny's eyebrows shot up. He leaned forward in his chair to rest his elbows on his knees. "No. I don't know. Can you go into more detail?"

If she didn't know that Danny was totally clueless Sam would have thought he was doing this to embarrass her. "It makes it sound like the girl is the guy's girlfriend. I know you don't think of me that way. I know you would never want me to be your girlfriend, so it sounded weird," she huffed.

Danny seemed to be thinking about her words. Quite suddenly he looked up, smirked, and said, "You don't know anything."

Because Sam was Sam she thought Danny was insulting her intelligence, instead of hinting that he really did want her to be his girlfriend. She stood and angrily said, "_Excuse me?_"

Before she could start ranting about how she was more intelligent and observant than Danny could ever hope to be, Sam found herself back on Danny's bed, pinned under his weight.

"I _said_… you don't know anything," he responded. He pinned her arms above her head. Sam's surprised amethyst eyes stared up into Danny's blazing blue ones. "I don't think of you as another sister. I don't think of you as just my best friend. I think of you as a smart, funny, loyal, supportive, independent, butt-kicking, _absolutely gorgeous_, ultra-recyclo vegetarian girl that I _really_ want to be my girlfriend. I want it more than I've ever wanted anything in my entire life. I want it because I love you Sam. I love you for every single thing that makes you who you are."

Danny had _no idea_ why he was suddenly confessing all of this to her. Maybe it was because for just a moment she'd looked _so_ sad when she said she knew he didn't want her to be his girlfriend. Maybe all those times Tucker and Jazz had told him she felt the same way had finally sunk in. Hell, maybe it was because he was still high from that fight. For a moment he didn't care, because it felt so _good_ to just let it all out. Then he took in Sam's expression. She was completely shocked. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had fallen open. She seemed seconds away from hyperventilating.

Danny sighed knowing he'd totally ruined their friendship. Now she would feel awkward around him. He knew what she would do. She wouldn't tell him to just leave her alone. She would slowly but surely distance herself. Danny thought that would be worse than just ending it suddenly and completely. He released her arms and stood, ready to face the consequences of his words. He turned away from her, closed his eyes, and began to speak.

"Look Sam, I know you don't feel the same way. I know you would feel bad about just ending our friendship, but I would prefer that instead of us feeling awkward around each other all the time. I know you probably won't want to explain it to Tucker and we don't have to. I'm sure it was a shock me just springing all of that on you and…" Danny's rambling speech was interrupted when Sam pressed her lips to his. His eyes snapped open in surprise and he wondered when she had moved and why he hadn't heard her, before his eyes slipped closed again as he kissed back.

Sam pulled away and said, "You don't know anything."

"Apparently not," he responded huskily. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers once more. Danny nibbled on Sam's bottom lip and she happily granted him entrance. Slowly they tasted each other, savoring what they'd denied themselves for so long. Danny turned and walked carefully backward until the back of his knees hit his computer chair. He managed to maneuver them so that he was sitting and she was straddling his lap. Sam moved her arms so they were wrapped around his neck. Danny rested one hand on her thigh while the other arm wrapped around her waist.

Unfortunately for the new couple the human body needs a little thing called oxygen to survive; after a while they had to separate. Danny and Sam pressed their foreheads together and waited for their breath to calm.

"Danny," Sam said. His gaze shifted from her reddened, slightly swollen lips to her shining amethyst orbs. "I love you too."

Danny practically glowed with happiness. He captured her lips again and the battle for dominance started once more. The next time they had to separate for air, it was Danny who spoke. "Sam," he started hesitantly. "Would you maybe… want to… be… my girlfriend?"

Sam burst into laughter. "You silly boy," she said. "I tell you I love you and you're _still_ nervous about asking me to be your girlfriend?" Danny blushed and looked away. Sam smiled at him and brushed some of his ever-messy hair away from his face. "Yes, Danny. I want to be your girlfriend. In fact I would _love_ to go be your girlfriend."

Danny looked at her for a moment. He moved his hand from her thigh to caress her cheek. "If it wasn't already clear, you saying yes probably makes me the happiest guy in the entire world," he said.

Sam laughed again. "You made it _very_ clear. I can tell my poetry career is going to go down the toilet. If I'm your girlfriend, there's no way I'll be able to write the dark stuff I usually do." Danny tilted his head in thought.

"What if you think of something bad happening to me?" he questioned. Sam's brilliant smile disappeared instantly.

"Wow. That works," she said quietly.

"What are boyfriends for?" Danny asked in an attempt to cheer her up. It worked.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of hearing that," she said leaning towards him. Neither of them heard the phone ring.

"I should hope not," he replied already anticipating what he dearly hoped would become a familiar battle for dominance.

Just as their lips brushed against each other… "DANIEL JAMES FENTON!" Danny's mother screamed. Danny was barely able to stop Sam from falling backwards of his lap. They stared at each other with wide eyes.

"Looks like the only thing Dash loves more than his reputation, is making my life miserable," Danny sighed.

Mr. Lancer entered the nurse office acutely aware of his inappropriate curiosity. The only thing he should be feeling was concern for Mr. Baxter, but he had to admit he was curious to see if his students had been exaggerating or if Daniel had actually managed to hurt the football player.

"Nurse Joy?" he called stepping just inside the entrance. The redhead stepped into view.

"Here for Dash?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes."

"Well, it's not too bad. A couple of bruises, some bumps on the head. I'm quite sure he only passed out because he couldn't handle the shock of being beat up. Someone like Dash is probably quite unused to being pushed around," Nurse Joy said.

"He passed out?" Mr. Lancer asked surprised.

"He was unconscious when Kwan brought him in," Nurse Joy confirmed. "He's awake now though."

"Do you have any idea who did it?" Mr. Lancer asked.

Nurse Joy's expression became amused. She leaned forward and whispered confidentially, "Kwan told me Danny Fenton did it. Can you believe it? _Danny Fenton._ He also said Dash was asking for it. He told me Dash said all kinds of things about Danny's family, kissed Sam Manson, and then called Danny 'Dan'. If all that's true I think the boy is lucky Danny only hurt him as much as he did." Mr. Lancer nodded. That made eight witnesses and all of them said Danny was provoked.

"Can I go see him?" Mr. Lancer asked.

"Sure. He's behind the third curtain," Nurse Joy said.

Mr. Lancer walked over and slipped, which he did surprisingly well considering his size, behind the curtain. The blond football player was sitting up and pressing an ice pack to the left side of his face. When he noticed Mr. Lancer he started talking immediately.

"Mr. Lancer I swear I wasn't trying to skip detention. I was walking to my locker like I said when out of nowhere Fenton and Foley jump me."

Mr. Lancer's eyebrows shot up. "They jumped you?" Mr. Lancer asked Dash slowly.

"Yeah. I mean, I'm pretty strong, but two against one? And they did it when no one was around," Dash said. If Mr. Lancer hadn't known he was lying he would have believed Dash without question.

"Why would they want to jump you?" he asked hoping to catch Dash.

But Dash just shrugged and said, "I don't know. I've never… wait, I bumped into their friend today. I think her name is Sam… yeah Sam Manson. Maybe she told them I pushed her or something." Mr. Lancer marveled at the boy's ability. Dash had looked him straight in the eye and_ lied_, with no flinching, fidgeting, or other noticeable tells. It made Mr. Lancer wonder how many other times Dash had lied to him about a situation.

"Well," Mr. Lancer said, "If that's the case then I'll call Daniel and Mr. Foley's parents for a conference. This school has a zero tolerance policy for bullying and it will be enforced." Because he was watching, Mr. Lancer saw the tiniest smirk cross Dash's face. In an instant he was the picture of innocence again. Mr. Lancer sighed and went to go make some phone calls.

Dash watched him go feeling satisfied. He was sure what Fenton had done was just a fluke. There was no way Danny Fenton could beat him up. He had been unprepared and Fenton had been pissed. Dash could admit to himself that it was possible he'd gone too far, but Fenton was going to get what was coming to him. Nobody messed with Dash Baxter and got away with it. _Nobody. _

"GET DOWN HERE!" Danny's mom yelled.

"Okay. I think if I'm not down there in .05 seconds, I'll be in even more trouble," Danny said. Sam removed herself from his lap, and walked over to her bag.

"I'm going to call Tucker for his proof. I hope he actually has something," she said. Danny nodded and ran downstairs. He walked into the kitchen as calmly as he possibly could.

"Yes?" he asked. His parents turned to him, his mom without her goggles and hood, turned to him with disappointed expressions.

"That was Mr. Lancer. He said you beat up a boy named Dash Baxter," Maddie said. Danny could see how upset she was about the idea of him beating someone else up. He could see her wondering if it was somehow their fault.

"Why would you do that Danny?" Jack asked his son. He'd seen Danny's grades from gym class. If he could beat someone up why was he failing? Why would he beat someone up in the first place? It didn't make sense.

"I didn't beat him up," Danny said. "I mean, I did, but he started it."

"He threw the first punch?" Maddie asked glancing at her husband.

"Well, no. But I didn't just go up and punch him. He came up to me. I was verbally provoked!" Danny insisted.

This gave his parents pause. "Verbally provoked?" Jack asked.

Danny shrugged and looked away. There was a familiar pink tinge showing on his cheeks. "I know terms," he said defensively.

Maddie smiled affectionately at her son. "You've been talking with Jazz more often haven't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"Okay, that is so not the point of this conversation," Danny said. Maddie's smile vanished.

"You're right," she agreed. "The point is why you would beat someone up. You said you were verbally provoked. What did he say?" Danny stared at the ground.

"Danny? What did he say?" Jack asked.

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. He opened his mouth to reply when they heard footsteps on the stairs. Sam appeared in the entrance of the kitchen. "Tucker's proof?" she said. "A video of what happened."

"A video? Why was he recording?" Danny asked.

"I have no idea. He won't tell me," she replied.

Danny turned back to his parents. "If you want to know what he said then come on." He walked towards Sam and they disappeared from view. Maddie and Jack heard their footsteps on the stairs. They glanced at each other before following Danny and Sam. When they entered the room they saw Danny sitting in his computer chair watching Sam mess with the computer.

"Okay," Sam said stepping away. "Just press play and you'll see what happened."

Maddie walked forward, with Jack following, and pressed play.

_"Let him beat you up?"_ they heard Tucker saying. They saw Danny and Sam glance at each other before opening their mouths. At that moment they saw a tall blond boy walk up to the group.

_"_Let _me beat his sorry ass? Fentina couldn't beat me up if I did every single thing that would piss him off the most," _the boy said. Maddie paused the video.

"This boy has beaten you up before?" she asked.

"Just watch the rest, Mom," Danny replied. That was answer enough for Maddie. At the conference on Monday, she'd be having a talk with the principal to find out why this hadn't been resolved before it got to this stage. She pressed play again.

"_Dash you've used so many variations of my last name I'm not sure you even know what it actually is anymore,"_ Danny said. Maddie paused the video again.

"He calls you names?" she asked

"Mom." Oh she was definitely talking to the principal about this. Maddie pressed play again, resolving to watch the rest of the video before saying anything.

"_I highly doubt you know me well enough to know what pisses me off_," Danny continued.

"_I don't have to know you well to know what pisses you off_," the boy, Dash, sneered. "_Then again why should I bother explaining anything to you? You're probably just as dumb as your fatass dad, we already know you're just as damn clumsy. You know I never really got how someone like your mom ever hooked up with someone like you dad. I mean I've seen them in action. Your mom probably would've gotten tons of ghosts by now if your dad wasn't always messing things up. You know the first time I ever saw her with her hood and goggles off I totally got where Jazz got her looks from. Now I just wonder if she's as flexible as your mom is. You know I never did thank her for tutoring me that one time. I still have her number. Maybe I should call her up, ask her to come over to my place so I can teach her a few things._" Jack and Maddie watched as Danny grew angrier with every comment until Sam and Tucker had to hold him back. This time it was Jack who paused the video.

"No wonder you decked him," Jack said. His usual booming voice was subdued with anger. Maddie nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, press play," Danny said. Maddie and Jack looked at each other. There was more? They turned back to the computer and pressed play.

The married couple watched as Sam and Tucker tried to calm Danny down. They jerked back slightly in surprise when Dash grabbed Sam and kissed her.

"He kissed your girlfriend!" Jack shouted.

"I know," Danny said. "Insult after insult." Maddie paused the video and whirled to face her son with an expression of pure hope.

"You didn't deny it," she said excitedly. "Does that mean…" she trailed off.

"Yes, Mrs. Fenton. Danny and I are together," Sam said smiling. The following squeal was deafening.

"Aahhh! I've been waiting years for this to happen! I thought you two would stay clueless until after graduation but you…"

"Mom," Danny said, "Calm down okay. The video still isn't finished." Maddie nodded but couldn't help releasing another small squeal before turning to the computer and pressing play. She watched as Dash pushed Sam away towards the camera. The focus changed as Tucker caught Sam, before turning back to Danny and Dash. Maddie frowned at her son's use of profanity but refrained from pausing as she found it acceptable in that situation. She couldn't imagine the kinds of things she would say if some woman up and kissed Jack… actually she could and she hoped that it would never happen.

She listened as Sam convinced Danny to let it go, watched as Danny listened, grabbed his things, and started walking towards them. Though Dash was off-screen she heard him talking again.

"_I may not know you well Fenton, but I know your freak of a girlfriend is always trying to get you out of trouble. How does it feel to be a little bitch? Huh, Dan?_" he said.

Sam walked forward and paused the video. "That's why Danny decked him," she said.

Maddie sighed and turned to her husband. "Do you think punishment is necessary?" she asked.

"No way!" Jack bellowed. "That guy was asking for it. Scratch that. He was on his knees _begging_ for it! Danny was… he was… what were you?" he asked his son.

"Verbally provoked," Danny responded.

"Yeah, that. Do _you_ want to punish him?" Jack asked his wife.

"No," Maddie sighed. "He was just defending us and Sam. He could have used his words, but I admit if I was in that situation I probably would have done the same thing."

"So, I'm not in trouble?" Danny asked hopefully.

"No, you're not in trouble, but next time try to refrain from violence. Now, your father and I are going to be in the lab. Leave the door open," Maddie said.

"What? Why?" Danny asked standing. That had never been a rule before.

"You and Sam are together now, sweetie. That means less freedom," his mom replied. She glided out of the room with Jack following behind asking for a cookie.

Danny turned to his girlfriend. "She's been waiting years for this to happen, and now that it has she's restricting our freedom?" he asked.

"I've told you a million times that parents make absolutely no sense," she replied walking towards him.

"You were right," Danny sighed wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I have a feeling I'm going to be hearing those words a lot," Sam said wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Oh you do, do you?" he asked leaning down.

"Yes, I do," she replied tilting her head up.

Their lips met. He'd barely asked for entrance before she granted it. Their tongues fought for a few moments before she let him win. Danny knew he would never get tired of kissing her. She tasted exquisite. Like chocolate and champagne and something he could only label as _Sam._ He tightened his arms around her pulling her closer. She stood on the tips of her toes so he wouldn't have to lean down so far.

The couple was so focused on each other they didn't hear the front door open downstairs. Or the call of 'I'm home!' Or the footsteps that were becoming louder as they moved closer and closer to Danny's room. They didn't notice anything but each other until…

"Aaahhh! It happened! It finally happened!" Jazz squealed. Danny and Sam jerked apart and whirled to face the overexcited redhead in the doorway.

"Jazz…" Danny started.

"Calm down," Sam finished.

"Yes, we're going out now…" Danny said.

"But you really don't need to make a big deal about it," Sam added.

"Awww," Jazz cooed. "You guys are already finishing each other's sentences. Sam, I totally want to be a bridesmaid at the wedding. I'm going to go call everybody in our family and tell them the good news." She disappeared down the hall laughing. The pair stared at the empty doorway before Sam turned to her boyfriend with raised eyebrows.

Danny shook his head. "Don't look at me," he said chuckling. "You already knew they were crazy."

"I heard a door close!" Maddie yelled up the stairs.

"That was Jazz!" Danny yelled back. He turned to Sam and asked, "You want to get out of here?"

Sam laughed. "Like you said, I already knew they were crazy, but sure. We can go to my place and watch a couple movies."

Danny paused. "Are your parents home?"

"Yeah," she said. "They got back from Paris last night. Why?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you were going to tell them about us," Danny explained.

"We told _your_ parents about us," she said confused. She walked over to the bed and sat to put her boots back on.

"Yeah. But my parents like you," he responded cautiously, turning to face her.

"Danny," Sam said shaking her head, "Do you know how long I've wanted this? How long I've wanted us to be an _us_? I'm not letting you go no matter what they say. They're going to have to accept you. And if they don't then my grandma can always threaten to kick them out of the house. It's in her name." Danny simply smiled, finding yet another reason to love the wonderful girl before him.

He walked over to the bed, grabbed her English book, and stuffed it in her bag. He slipped the bag over his shoulder and held out a hand. Sam grabbed it and stood. Their fingers automatically laced as they walked towards the door.

"We're going over to Sam's!" he called in the direction of the lab.

"Okay, sweetie! Be home by curfew!" he heard his mom yell back. No sooner had they walked out of the door than a familiar blue mist escaped Danny's mouth. He turned to look at Sam with an apologetic expression.

Sam rolled her eyes. "Seriously?" she asked. Before Danny could actually state his apology she continued. "I know what you do Danny. I help you most of the time. You don't have to be sorry. It's not your fault. I'll go set up at my house, and you go kick butt. Oh, and take this." She grabbed her bag and handed him a thermos.

"Thanks," Danny said. "I'll see you at your house." He gave her a quick kiss, looked around to make sure no one was watching, changed, and flew off. Sam started walking towards her house.

She heard a, "Beware!" and a, "Seriously? I changed for you? I was with my girlfriend!" before she was out of earshot. As she walked she dug around in her bag for her cell phone. If her parents found out before Tucker did he would be upset.

_Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?_

_Been here all along_

_Why can't you see?_

_You belong with me_

Tucker grabbed his phone, pressed accept, and said, "Hey, Sam."

"You don't have caller id," she responded. "How do you always know it's me?"

"Your ringtone," Tucker said.

"What is it?" she asked.

Tucker debated telling her the truth, but he decided he liked his shins unbruised. "Just a Dumpty Humpty song. Did the video work?"

"Yeah," she said, her attention diverted. "Mr. Fenton looked like he wished he could've socked Dash himself. Mrs. Fenton looked like she wanted to aim one of her bazookas at him." Tucker laughed.

"You know she thinks of Danny as her little, baby boy," he said. "It worked on my end too."

"What? Why did you need the video?" Sam asked.

"Mr. Lancer called my parents too. I guess Dash didn't want people to think that just Danny could beat him up, so he told Mr. Lancer that the both of us jumped him or something. I just showed my parents the video. They saw that Danny was seriously provoked and that I wasn't involved. Unless you call recording it and trying to get Danny to stop involved," Tucker explained.

"He is so pathetic!" Sam yelled. "He can't just accept that Danny beat him up. He has to go and make up this whole story so Danny will get in trouble and he gets off scott-free. I swear if he keeps messing with my boyfriend I'm going to…"

"WAIT! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait a _minute_. If he keeps messing with your what?" Tucker asked hopefully.

"Oh," Sam said sounding sheepish. "That's actually what I called to tell you. Danny and I are together now."

"YES!" Tucker screamed. "My God! Do you know how long I've waited for this? I was ready to lock you guys in a room and not let you out until you admitted your feelings! I was looking for places to rent and everything! But I don't have to! Because you guys are together! Yes!"

"Tucker, are you dancing around your room?" Sam asked.

"Yes, my dear Sam, I am. I am expressing my extreme joy in the form of dance," Tucker stated candidly.

"You are a shameless geek," Sam said. Tucker knew she was smiling and shaking her head.

"A _happy_ shameless geek. An _ecstatic_ shameless geek. A…"

"Okay! I get it. You're happy for us," Sam said. "Danny's fighting right now, but he's meeting me at my house for movies. You in?"

"As if," Tucker scoffed. "You think I want to be with you guys _right_ after you got together? You were bad enough when you were clueless."

"Alright, alright," Sam laughed. "But you're going to have to hang out with us sometime. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure thing. Bye," Tucker said.

"Wait!"

"Yeah?"

"Which Dumpty Humpty song?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"Sorry, Sam. My mom's meatloaf is calling my name. Bye," Tucker evaded. He hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up his phone again when it buzzed with a text.

_One way or another, I'm _going_ to find out._

_-S_

'_Oh, darn it,'_ Tucker thought. Then he got up and went to find some of that meatloaf. As he walked downstairs he remembered something _very_ important.

"Hey Mom, Dad! Danny and Sam _finally_ got together! You guys owe me fifty bucks _each_!" he called excitedly.

The rest of the weekend could be described as a happy montage of lovey-dovey moments between Danny and Sam, gleeful money collecting for Tucker, ghost fights for Danny, and studying and hanging out for all three. Come Monday they were totally prepared for the chemistry test.

And the after-school conference.

Dash didn't go near Danny, but in between classes he would mouth, "You're going down." Danny didn't acknowledge the statement other than to roll his eyes and return to trying to calm down his girlfriend. Sam was agitated by the sheer amount of people she barely knew coming up to her and Danny to congratulate them on their new relationship. Even the teachers were congratulating them!

"Sam," Danny said soothingly, "They'll get over it. In a couple days some other couple is going to break up or get together. Besides I'm actually kind of cool with it. Now every guy in school knows you're mine." Sam thought about that.

"Okay, I guess I am kind of overreacting," she said. She didn't let him know she was okay with it because he'd reminded her that every girl in school now knew he was hers.

The day went by normally. Danny had to leave third and sixth to capture Skulker and the Box Ghost. At the end of the day Sam went with them to the office. Jazz was waiting for them. Danny had told her about the fight the day before, though she'd already known. She said Tucker had told her on Friday, and e-mailed her the video. He wondered when they'd gotten so close.

Now he watched as his sister smiled at his best friend. It wasn't quite the same as when Sam smiled at him, but it was pretty dang close. He saw Tucker smile back before returning his attention to his PDA. Jazz's gaze moved to the technological device and she glared at it. Danny nudged Sam and jerked his head towards the other pair.

"So I tried that game you told me about," they heard Jazz say quietly. "It was awful."

Tucker turned to her with raised eyebrows, "Are you saying that because you didn't instantly understand how to play?" he asked just as quietly.

"No," Jazz said defensively. Tucker chuckled and moved closer to her.

"Here, I have it on my PDA. I'll show you how." He missed the smile that crossed Jazz's face, but Danny and Sam didn't. They looked at each other and could barely keep themselves from laughing.

"Looks like there's a new clueless one," Danny said. Sam nodded in agreement.

"What are you four giggling and whispering about?"

The teens whirled around to face the Fentons and Foleys. Tucker and Jazz stepped away from each other. "Nothing," they all said simultaneously. The parents looked at each other and seemed about to say something when they were interrupted.

"Principal Ishiyama will see you now," the secretary said. They all looked at each other before walking through the door. Dash and his parents were already there with Principal Ishiyama and Mr. Lancer. Usually a meeting like the one they were about to have would be held in the principal's office, but because of the large amount of people present it was being held in the conference room. The conference room which had a projector and viewing screen, much to Tucker's delight.

Principal Ishiyama waited for everyone to get settled before speaking. "Now…" she started.

Mr. Baxter interrupted her. "All of these children were involved in the fight?"

"No," Principal Ishiyama stated. "Jasmine is Daniel's elder sister and Samantha is the girl the fight was started over."

"What?" Danny yelled. "He said the fight was started because of Sam? That's not even…"

"Daniel," Mr. Lancer warned. Sam put a hand on his shoulder, and whispered in his ear

"Calm down. Tucker burned the video to a CD. After Dash tells his side, we'll see what really happened. Besides you know perfectly well you would totally start a fight over me," she said low enough for only him to hear. Danny sat back in his chair. He glanced at Dash and rolled his bright blue eyes.

"You know," Sam said, less quietly, "If you keep rolling your eyes like that, they're going to get stuck that way."

Danny turned to her with an earnest expression. "That would be a tragedy. I wouldn't be able to stare at your pretty face."

"You are such a goof," Sam said blushing.

"You love my goofiness," he responded.

"Whatever," she said rolling her eyes.

"You know, if you keep rolling your eyes like that, they're going to get stuck that way," Danny said smugly. Sam glared at him and he wiggled his eyebrows up and down mischievously.

"Ew," Sam said laughing slightly, "You look like a creeper when you do that."

"Oh no!" Danny gasped. "You figured out my secret. Now I won't be able to watch you sleep at night." Sam laughed even harder. Danny looked so happy you'd think he'd conquered world hunger instead of just making his girlfriend laugh. Mr. and Mrs. Baxter looked at each other. It certainly seemed as though Daniel would start a fight over Samantha.

"Ahem…" a voice said. The couple turned their attention to the rest of the room to find everyone staring at them. Most were amused, but Dash looked disgusted. They looked down at the table.

"You guys totally forgot we were here didn't you?" Tucker teased. And cue the blushes.

"As I was saying," Principal Ishiyama said, "We have already heard Dash's side of the story. He says early on Friday he bumped into Samantha…"

"Sam," Danny interrupted.

"He bumped into _Sam_," Principal Ishiyama continued. "He apologized and went about his business. However, after school, when he was going to his locker to get some of his things Daniel…"

"Danny," Sam said sharply.

Principal Ishiyama sighed but once again complied. "Danny and Tucker attacked him from behind." Danny started drumming his fingers on the table in agitation. Before Mr. Lancer could tell him to stop, Sam placed her hand over his effectively stopping the noise. Danny flipped his hand over and intertwined their fingers. "He thinks Sam told Danny and Tucker he pushed her. The damage wasn't too severe. Dash has some bruises and some bumps on his head. Still, bullying is not tolerated at this school." Danny scoffed, and was ignored.

"Personally," Mr. Baxter started, "I think these boys should be suspended, if not expelled. They jumped my son. There needs to be consequences. Granted they were trying to protect their friend, but my boy didn't purposely push her. Their reaction was not only uncalled for but extreme."

"I agree," his wife said. "Anything Dash did after Danny and Tucker first hit him was self-defense." Danny, Sam, Jazz, Maddie, Jack, Maurice, and Honey all turned to look at Tucker.

"Can I use the projector?" he asked the principal. She nodded and he walked over to it and turned it on.

"Just accept your punishment," Dash sneered.

"Now Dash, they are allowed to tell their side of the story also," Mr. Lancer said. He'd come prepared. He had written accounts from his detention students and Kwan detailing what they had seen and heard.

Dash shook his head and the group sat in silence as they waited for Tucker to finish setting up. He walked back to his bag, grabbed a CD case and walked back. When he'd inserted the CD and the video had come up he said, "Here's what really happened on Friday." He pressed play and stood aside.

Since everyone else had already seen the video, Dash, his parents, Principal Ishiyama, and Mr. Lancer were the only ones watching carefully. They listened to Dash's taunts; watched as Danny refrained from hitting him_ twice_, before finally giving up and heading towards him. When the video showed Dash grabbing Sam and kissing her, she tightened her grip on Danny's hand. Tucker paused the video and returned to his seat.

It was Maddie who broke the silence. "Obviously, Tucker was not involved in the fight," she started.

"How do we know? We didn't see the rest of the video," Mr. Baxter tried.

"Tucker play the rest of the video, please," Principal Ishiyama said. Instead of standing and moving towards the projector, Tucker looked at Danny. The adults and Dash realized that Sam and Jazz were doing the same thing.

Danny nodded. "Dude…" Tucker said.

"Are you sure Danny?" Jazz asked. Sam said nothing.

"If it keeps Tucker from getting in trouble then I don't care," he stated firmly. "Play the video, Tuck." Tucker sighed, moved back to the projector, and pressed play. This time Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were the only ones not watching closely. The adults watched the fight in awe. Jack and Maddie were especially surprised as they saw Danny's clumsiness at home everyday. Knocking into things, dropping things, tripping down the stairs, tripping _up_ the stairs. The way he moved in the video, however, showed them that he could be graceful when he wanted to be. The last moments of the video had them listening to Danny's growled warning to Dash, seeing Danny's expression of disgust, and watching him walk towards them. Once again there was silence.

Once again Maddie broke it. "Obviously, Tucker wasn't involved in the fight," she repeated. "Now, Danny may have physically assaulted your child, but I think we can all agree that Dash purposely provoked him. I am not saying that Danny reacted in the right way, nor am I saying that Danny should go without punishment. I simply believe that Danny's punishment should not be as severe as expulsion or suspension, especially considering Dash lied about the circumstances of the fight. There are also implications that Dash has beaten Danny up before and that he calls my son names. I think this means Dash should be punished more severely." Jack opened his mouth, but Maddie quickly shook her head. He pouted and she mouthed, "I'll give you some fudge when we get home." He perked up but managed to remain silent.

"Given the circumstances," Principal Ishiyama put in, "I think both boys should get detentions."

"What?" Dash exploded. The whole time he'd been silent trying to figure out a way to get out of this mess. He should've just kept his mouth shut and gone back to beating Fenturd the way he always did.

"Dash," his father said. His voice was subdued with anger. "You provoked this boy and then lied about it to get him in trouble. Your mother and I believed that he and his friend beat you up for no reason, only to come here and find that you said awful things about his family and kissed his girlfriend!"

"She's not his girlfriend," Dash snapped.

"Actually," Danny said, "She is." Mr. Lancer and Principal Ishiyama smiled. They'd heard rumors and suspected, but the pair was so silly they couldn't be sure. Both adults made a mental note to congratulate the teens. They were very happy for the two… until they saw Tucker giving them significant looks and realized that they now owed him money.

Principal Ishiyama spoke again. "I think I have a solution that will satisfy everybody. Danny, instead of being suspended, you will receive five after-school detentions. Dash because you provoked Danny and then lied about it you will receive ten after-school detentions and because there are implications that _you_ have beat up_ Danny_, you will be suspended from the next two games." After seeing the glare his father was giving him Dash knew better than to say anything.

"I believe this meeting is over," Mr. Lancer said. He would be keeping a more careful eye on Dash in the future, and he would _definitely_ question anything the boy said. The Baxters, Foleys, Fentons, and Sam stood and exited the conference room.

That week was one of the best Danny could remember having. Somehow it got out that Dash had lied about the fight to get Danny in trouble. He was still popular but he'd lost a lot of respect. Also Mr. Lancer was paying more attention to Dash's actions and had caught him bullying other kids a total of _thirteen times_. The hallways were now a much safer place. The funniest part of the week was when Sam found out her ringtone _and_ that Tucker had been collecting money from bets he'd placed on when they would get together. She'd asked Tucker to borrow his phone and then had Danny hold him while she called it. Before she could even start yelling at him for making her ringtone a song by _Taylor Swift_, Liza Finnegan walked up and handed Tucker some cash. When Sam asked her why, she explained that Tucker had bet her she (Sam) and Danny would get together before graduation. She also said that a lot of people and a couple teachers owed him money. Danny knew the bruises on Tucker's shins wouldn't heal for a _while_.

Sometime during the week Tucker and Jazz started going out. Everyone was surprised when Danny was totally cool with it. He explained that he would rather have someone he could trust with his sister than some random guy who might hurt her.

That Friday as Danny phased into his room after a surprisingly easy fight with Skulker, he thought about everything else that had happened that week. He'd asked Tucker why he was recording when the fight happened and Tucker had replied that he was tired of seeing Dash beat him up. He'd decided to record Dash messing with him and give it to Mr. Lancer. Danny made sure to tell him how grateful he was. His parents had laid off on the inventions a little; Sam's parents had finally gotten over the fact that he was going out with their daughter; and he and Sam were going on a double date with Tucker and Jazz to the movies the next day.

Danny's last thought before he slipped into unconsciousness was: _Life is good._

**a/n: A Company of Swans is by Eva Ibbotson and my favorite book in the entire world. The first time I finished reading it I literally turned back to the first page and started reading again. I know Danny's not popular but Amity Park is such a small town I feel like everybody would know who everybody else is even if they aren't necessarily friends. I made Dimmsdale the town over because it was the first name that came to mind. The idea for the confrontation between Danny and Sam about him calling her his girl came from xsugarxblossomx. For anyone who got the Nurse Joy reference, sorry. Once again it was the first name that came to mind. I used Maddie and Jack because I thought it would be easier than saying Danny's mom or Danny's dad. I really don't think Sam would be against Danny fighting just because they are together. I don't get stories where she dumps him because he has to leave her to fight. I mean, he was doing that before they were together why does it have to change just because he's her boyfriend? I'm kinda sorta thinking about doing a story where Tucker **_**does**_** lock them in a room and refuse to let them out until they admit their feelings. I think that would be so hilarious. I feel like Sam is the kind of person who would be really annoyed by people she barely knew coming up to her to talk about her life. **

** So did you like it? Did you hate it? Did I totally ruin a good story? If you did like it- tell me why.**

**If you didn't like it- tell me why! If you think I need to improve on something- tell me what it is so I can work on it.**

** Review please. **


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